On January 4, 2022, a tribal man identified as Sanju Pradhan (30 years) was lynched by a mob for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by cutting a tree at Besrabazar village under Kolebira Police Station in Simdega district of Jharkhand. According to the police, the victim was lynched and set on fire by a mob on suspicion of felling trees and stealing wood. The half-burnt body of Sanju Pradhan was recovered by the police from the spot. Mob lynching is a flagrant human rights violation. Recently, the Jharkhand legislative assembly has passed the Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021 on December 21, 2021, which aims at providing “effective protection” of constitutional rights and the prevention of mob violence in the state.
IRAC has demanded a high-level inquiry into the mob lynching incident and compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the next of kin of the deceased.
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